SC - Celtic Feast Repost--Long

[maddie teller-kook]

Considering the information we all have concerning  Celtic cooking, I think you
did a superb job.  I just had a few questions...

On the fennel... do you have information that it was grown by the Romans in
Britain or do you think it was imported?   I'm just curious.

As for the Samit.... I have used that recipe a LOT! I love the stuff.  You might
want to try it using farmers cheese. It is a small curd cheese... similar to
cottage cheese but without the liquid... it can save a few steps..  It also has
a consistency closer to home made cheese.  Try it sometime. It comes in a 1 lb
clear plastic container.

The Rabbit stew looks yum.  Have you tried making it with beer or ale?   I have
done a rabbit with onion stew that was cooked in beer... everyone loved it.  I
am sure you can use poor man's rabbit (aka chicken) as a substitute for this as
well.

All in all , looks like a yummy feast.  Wish I could have been there!

Meadhbh

Melissa Martines wrote:

> Thanks to everyone for their responses to my request for comments on my
> Celtic feast.  Apparently, a number of people either didn't get the
> post, or missed it, so by request, I am reposting it.  Please, please
> feel free to comment, criticize, or add information.  :)
>
> Repost:
>
> Well, despite dealing with a monsoon on Monday and the minor crisis of
> my Laurel Mistress Rosemounde being struck by lightning (she is OK),
> Clanne Preachine in the bog did indeed hold their Early Period Celtic
> Faire and I taught my class/tasting on a Celtic Feast.  I thought some
> of you out there might be interested, so here's the info:
>
> The challenge of doing Celtic, of course, is that no actual recipes
> exist.  I relied heavily on archeological information on what foods and
> animals were eaten and raised during the time period and tried to keep
> preparation methods simple.  The rest is largely the creative part of
> Creative Anachronism :)  I welcome anyone's comments, constructive
> criticisms and additional knowledge of this area :)
>
> First, we started with stewed rabbit.  OK, it was really chicken
> pretending to be rabbit.  The lady at the Giant Eagle looked at me like
> I had three heads when I asked for rabbit.  I thought if rabbit tastes
> like chicken, then chicken should taste like rabbit :)  I also know
> there is a great debate on when rabbit was introduced to the British
> Isles.  I basically adhere to the belief that the Normans brought RABBIT
> over, but there are several descriptions of the Celts eating HARE (which
> of course, is not available in Tennessee or Pennsylvania), so I had
> decided to substitute rabbit.
>
> Stewed Rabbit
>
> 1 2-3 lb. rabbit cut into pieces like chicken
> 4 Tbsp butter
> 1/2 c. chopped onions/leeks
> 4 clove garlic, if desired
> 1/2 tsp fennel
> 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
> salt to taste
> 1 c. red wine
> water to cover
>
> Melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven.  Add onions/leeks and
> garlic and cook in the butter for about 5 minutes (don't brown).  Add
> rabbit pieces to the butter and brown on each side.  Add rest of
> ingredients.  Cover and simmer for 1-2 hours.
>
> I decided on stewing a meat, because other than roasting, it is one of
> the earliest methods of cooking meat.  The recipes is one that I created
> based on one in the British Museum Cookbook and one that Mistress
> Rosemounde had created.  The spices were chosen after looking over an
> archeological list of plants found in Roman Britain excavations.  I
> debated about the wine, because the Romans would have brought it to the
> Isles.  Celts probably only had beer and mead until then.  I decided to
> add it because I like the taste.  Ale also works well in this recipe and
> is probably a little more authentic Early Celt.
>
> Next, I made griddle bread. There is all kinds of archeological evidence
> of the use of oats.  There is also a lot of evidence that the Early
> Celts made griddle breads and probably didn't bake (they actually found
> a  bog man  with part of a burned griddle cake in his belly).  I found a
> number of griddle bread recipes and put this one together based on
> recipes in British Heritage and a Meridian Publication called Early
> Period.
>
> Oatcakes
>
> 2 c. oatmeal
> Hot water
> salt
> pinch of baking soda
>
> Cook the oatmeal and the hot water into a thick porridge and add salt
> and a touch of baking soda.  Drop by spoonfuls onto a medium hot griddle
> or skillet.  Cook until brown on underside.
>
> OK, I cheated with the baking soda.  It gives it a bit of a rise, but
> not much.  It is also is very important to keep the griddle on low heat,
> or you end up with a super done bottom and gooey top.
>
> To go on the bread, I copied a recipe for Samit Spread out of Early
> Period. We know the Celts were big into dairy food, and nothing in the
> recipe is out of the realm of probably foods they would have used.
>
> Samit Spread
>
> 1 lb cottage cheese (NOT fat-free)
> 1/2 c. softened, but not melted, butter
> 1/2 c. sour cream
> garlic and herbs to taste (I used savory and thyme)
>
> Mix everything together.  I use my food processor, but you could just
> mash it all together too.  Again, I used my archeological sources to
> pick herbs to use.
>
> I had a hard time determining a vegetable dish to use.  I finally opted
> for pottage since I had a lot of different recipes for various pottages
> and soups using either oatmeal and/or barley and greens and spices.
> This recipe is one that was developed by Mistress Rosemounde.
>
> Pottage
>
> 3 c. water
> salt
> 1 1/2 c. barley, cooked
> 1 c. finely chopped cabbage
> 1/2 c. finely chopped onion/leek
> 1 c. chopped spinach
>
> Boil the cabbage, onion/leek and spinach until tender.  Drain.  Add the
> cooked barley.  Mix.  Salt to taste.
>
> For a kind of dessert dish, I decided on mixed berries with hazelnuts on
> top.  We know the Celts ate strawberries (although not the modern kind)
> and raspberries.  Blackberries also existed, but it is uncertain if they
> ate them or not (several of the latrine excavations have not included
> blackberry seeds).  Hazelnuts were also used by the Celts.
>
> Mixed Berries
>
> 1 c. raspberries
> 1 c. strawberries
> 1. blackberries
> 1/4 c. chopped hazelnuts
>
> Mix berries together.  Sprinkle nuts on top.
>
> I also made a small mead to go with the meal that turned out very well.
>
> Sources included: The Pagan Celts, The British Museum Heritage Cookbook,
> The Landscape Archeology of Ireland, Mistress Rosemounde's SCA Cookery,
> The Celts, various issues of Early Period (an SCA publication in
> Meridies now out of print), class notes from Mistress Stephanie of
> Nethyrwode's Bog Finds Class, British Heritage magazine's special
> edition on King Arthur, and a great Web site sponsored by the British
> Archeological Society at http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue1/index.html.
>
> THLady Morgan MacBride
> Shire of Glaedenfeld
> Meridies
>
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